14 August 2010

Once a chic address for the elite gentry of Kolkata, the grand colonial mansions today wear a decrepit look. A sudden crack; old paint peeling off from prominent portions of the facade; creepers stemming cautiously from several crevices or soggy weeds voraciously spreading like ugly patchwork on the old, tired walls – the former glory and elegance seem to be trying hard to find their rightful place again.

Queen’s Mansion and Park Mansion, both magnificent pieces of architecture on two corners of Park Street, are but mere shadows of their glorious past. Today curious onlookers and pedestrians on this celebrated thoroughfare lament their sordid present. Hurtful to the eyes almost, their maintenance today reeks of complete callousness - ill-managed electric wires, creaking wooden staircases, and dingy alleys and landings dirtied with splotches of paan spit!

Heritage buildings such as these bespeak of a glamorous past. They tell stories of a bygone era when wealthy Armenian businessmen built these edifices for their kith and kin –Armenian philanthropists, students and merchants who made Kolkata their home from the early 17th century. There are fascinating tales of how British ‘sahibs’ and ‘memsahibs’ cavorted during pretty shindigs and snotty soirees in the plush ballrooms; and several other legendary anecdotes- like those about rich patrons booking their favourite tables to enjoy the finest coffee and confectionaries at the uber-cool eateries housed in the complex. Cut to the present, and you can find floors (more precisely cloistered cubbyholes where rodents and pigeons hover about), which have been turned into small-scale manufacturing units, storehouses and offices.

…and like many other defunct institutions and symbols of this old city, these once-opulent structures are telling remarks on the apathy and squalor that has permeated the city's political and economic status!